I'm an architect and contractor who enjoys designing and making furniture. In the same way new technologies have developed from toys, building furniture is a great way to explore new structural ideas. Today, computer milling toolpaths from sheet goods presents a reliable way to build folded plate structures and sculpted laminated objects that weren't previously possible. If you like the work, please visit my Etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Enfolder

You didn't miss anything, the structure is designed as a folded plate structure and the hinges, while perhaps appearing less clean then a miter, avoid the joints behaving rigidly. The thinner the wood, the more stress is placed on a rigid joint. One could certainly have made the joints "standing miters" and I've done this sort of thing before with biscuit joints and 3/4" plywood. While it certainly has its own elegance, I found the gluing to be tricky to clamp reliably and errors tended to propogate. This may be a testament to my limitations as a woodworker. Sanding and puttying were required to finish any shape that had any complexity to it. As I started working with folded plates more, I wanted to have an assembly method that stayed very precise so I didn't have to s...

You didn't miss anything, the structure is designed as a folded plate structure and the hinges, while perhaps appearing less clean then a miter, avoid the joints behaving rigidly. The thinner the wood, the more stress is placed on a rigid joint. One could certainly have made the joints "standing miters" and I've done this sort of thing before with biscuit joints and 3/4" plywood. While it certainly has its own elegance, I found the gluing to be tricky to clamp reliably and errors tended to propogate. This may be a testament to my limitations as a woodworker. Sanding and puttying were required to finish any shape that had any complexity to it. As I started working with folded plates more, I wanted to have an assembly method that stayed very precise so I didn't have to simplify the forms to make it work. It's probably a sign I've been "drinking the kook-aid" for too long but for me the hinges are a kind of honesty in structural expression.